Hank carrier

ABSTRACT

A hank carrier apparatus in which at least one of two hank carrying arms is slidably mounted on a support which in turn is pivotable between the vertical and horizontal. A lever which is also pivotable on the support includes first and second springs for forcing the arms apart. The hank is loaded when the support is in the vertical position, and as the assembly is pivoted downwardly to the horizontal, the springs on the lever produce increased force on the slidable arm to tension the hank for unwinding.

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,885,754

Delerue May 27, 1975 HANK CARRIER 2,545,212 3/1951 Ruf 242 53 [76] Inventor: Dominique Michel Delerue, 43, rue 5:2

de la Briqueterie F 59420 Mouvaux France 14,933 5/1929 Australia 242/1 10.3 [22] May 1973 711,267 6/1954 United Kingdom 242/110 1211 Appl. No.: 364,615 28,408 12/1907 United Kingdom 242/110.3

Primary Examiner'George F. Mautz [30] M 'l 9;; Pnonty Data 72 9213 Attorney, Agent, or FirmPaul & Paul ay rance OCI. 27, i972 France 72.38294 52 11.5. C1 242/127; 242/54 R; 242/110 A hank carfier F which at least one Of 51 1m. (:1 B65h 49/30; B65h 75/24 h 'i h h shdahly mmmted auppm [58] Field 61 Search 242/110, 110.1, 110.2, F PIVOPahI? the "ermal and 53 54, R, l horlZPntal. A lever Whlch 18 also plvotable 0n the Support mcludes first and second springs for forcing the [56] References Cited arms apart. The hank is loaded when the support is in the vertical position, and as the assembly is pivoted UNITED STATES PATENTS downwardly to the horizontal, the springs on the lever l 'srtmchsel 2 3 0 1 1 0 produce increased force on the slidable arm to tension evenson 2,138,299 11/1938 Gruebel 242/1103 ux the hank for unwmdmg' 2,265,498 12/1941 Stancliff et al 242/110.3 X 7 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures Pmmnzum ms 3,885,754

SHEET i FIG. ID IL i L IL HANK CARRIER The present invention relates to an improvement to hank-carriers for unwinding a hank of yarn in an upwards direction, in the direction of the axis of said hank, which is stretched between two substantially parallel arms, rotating about their axes and overhanging a support which is substantially perpendicular thereto and which may pivot on a frame between two positions, namely a vertical position for locating the hank and a horizontal position for unwinding, the support being under the arms in this latter position, at least one of the arms moving towards the other in thevertical position of the support, in order to facilitate positioning the hank and moving away from the other arm as the support begins to move downwards and into the horizontal position of the support for keeping the hank taut throughout the period of unwinding, and, for this, the corresponding arm is mounted on a slide sliding on the support.

In the spinning process, the hanks of yarn are obtained from bobbins in order to form a cylinder of yarn wound on a special machine which forms the hanks around an expansible drum on which the yarn is distributed by means of a yarn-guide. The hanks are then stabilized by ties and subjected to various treatments, such as shrinkage, dyeing or the like, they must then be unwound in order to form bobbins of treated yarn. In order to improve productivity, the hanks are increasingly larger and heavier and unwinding must take place at increasing speeds.

A first type of hank is formed on the expansible drum with a yarnguide which distributes the yarn by overlapping it continuously along a fixed course, that is to say of fixed length between two fixed ends. The hank is thus formed by successive overlapped layers which slowly unwind in a radial or diametral direction. This is the conventional hank as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings accompanying the present description. Since the yarn-guide necessarily reduces its speed at the two ends of its reciprocating motion, the hank comprises shoulders 21, 22 at the edges. The width of these hanks is naturally limited, since the course of the yarn-guide is also limited.

Another more recent type of hank consists of displacing the course of the yarn-guide slowly and progressively in a direction such as to elongate the hank in the direction of its axis, this axis corresponding to that of the expansible drum on which the hank is formed. This type of hank is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is known by the name sectional or axial hank, in which the shoulders such as 21 and 22 have been eliminated and which contain a greater quantity of yarn.

These hanks are held between two arms 1 and 2 which may rotate about themselves about an axis parallel to the axis of the hank in order to be able to stretch the latter and to position it correctly by causing the arms to rotate slightly about themselves thus causing the hank to act, as it were, in :the manner ofa belt. Nevertheless, unwinding does not take place by rotating the hank but by drawing off the yarn in an upwards direction, in the direction of the axis of the hank and the axes of the arms 1 and 2. To thisend, the. arms I and 2 are arranged to overhang a support 3 (FIGS. 3, 4 & 5). A high unwinding speed is thus achieved.

To facilitate the positioning of the hank, it was proposed a long time ago, to move the two arms 1 and 2 towards each other, at the time of positioning, then to move them apart for the unwinding operation. Nevertheless, during the positioning of the hank, the vertical position of the arms 1 and 2 is troublesome and the hank is frequently badly positioned. It was thus proposed to provide a support 3 which may pivot in order to be located vertically such that the arms 1 and 2 are horizontal and that the hank 18 may be positioned on an upper horizontal arm 2 which is moved slightly towards the arm I for this operation; then the two arms 1 and 2 are movedapart to stretch the hank and the support 3 is folded down to place the hank in the unwinding position. An additional separation of the arms 1 and 2 is thus possibletostretch the hank by a considerable amount. In this way it is possible to treat hanks of considerable cap'acity.

Nevertheless, the tension of 'the hank is frequently insufficient at the time bffolding down the support 3, such that the coils of the; hank are displaced. It is this drawback which thepresent, invention proposes to remove. g

Moreover, if a certain tension is exerted on a large hank, the tension on each coil becomes prohibitive when the hank decreasesgin volume; this is another drawback which the inv er'ition lproposes to remove.

Furthermore, at the end of the unwinding, the hank becomes elongated and the tension of the last coils becomes insufficient owing to the limited course of the stretching arm. This drawback is also remedied by the invention.

Furthermore, the tension differs from one end ofthe.

hank to the other such that the coils do not unwind uniformly and, at times, bundles of yarn l'eave together,

become tangled and cause a breakage and stoppage of the unwinding process. The invention also avoids this other drawback.

Finally, it is necessary that the support 3'has a stable position during the unwinding and as the weight 'ofthe hank decreases during unwinding. The invention provides an apparatus ensuring this stability. I

More precisely, in use, it should be noted that it is always the coils located at the lower end of the hank placed horizontally with its vertical axis which tend to leave together and to trap the coilslocated above them, which causes stoppages and breakages of yarn. It is thus necessary to find a better method for stretching this lower part of the hank. This is achieved withtwo cylindrical tensioning arms 1 and 2 located parallel to each other, but, in the case of a section'alorv axial hank of 1 large dimensions, it will be noted, when a separating force is exerted on the lower part of the twogarms '1 and i 2, that their upper part tends to move apart less than; the lower part owing to the bending of the mechanical parts which support these arms in an overhung posi tion. The result is that the lower part of the hank is sufficiently taut at the end' of the unwinding, but is too taut at the beginning of this operation.

In the case of a conventional hank, the excess yarn at the edges of the hank is more substantial and since the width of the hank is less, it is possible to have shorter tensioning arms such that the bending moment exerted on these arms will be much slighter and the I bending will be much less.

a spring which gently pushes the moving arm at the end of unwinding of the hank to tension the last coils. Nevertheless, this spring has no action for the tension of the hank at the beginning of unwinding. The present invention also proposes to eliminate this drawback.

Consequently, the improvements of the present invention are chiefly characterised by the fact that a combination of means is provided such that the coils of the hank are not'disturbed when the support is folded down and during unwinding and, particularly, that the tension of each coil varies as little as possible between the beginning and completion of unwinding and, moreover, such that the movement of the support is simple and easy, and, to this end, a combination is provided in which: l.

a. the arm furthest away from the pivot of the support moves towards the otheriarriiiunder its own weight when the support is raised, whe reas the arm nearest the pivot of the support may, momentarily, when the support is vertical, move away from the other arm to tension the hank with a slight force to resume its normal position at the time of folding down the support when the second arm exerts its tension with a considerable force,

b. the two most remote generatrices of the two arms form an angle which varies during operation, an angle which opens progressively, seen from the support, and which has a different initial value depending on the type of hank to be treated,

c. the tension of the second arm is exerted with an elasticity which varies very greatly such that at the end of unwinding the clearance is considerable and the force is slight,

d. a resilient device assists in keeping the support in the horizontal position during unwinding.

To preventinopportune lifting, automatic locking of the support in the horizontal position is provided and this is obtained by means of a resilient device which urges the support upwards with a force decreasing progressively as said support is folded down, the position of unstable equalibrium of this support being located slightly before-it reaches the horizontal position.

According to a preferred embodiment, the slide of the arm furthest from the pivot of the support, is connected to the frame by a resilient connecting-rod, of

variablel'ength, always tending to extend such that the pivot-points of the connecting-rod to the frame and to the slide, on the one hand, and the pivot-point of the 'a'rm'to'the frame, on the other hand, are the apexes of a triangle having two variable sides and one small fixed side,-theside constituted by the connecting-rod having to have a minimum length when the three apexes are aligned, this elastic connecting-rod urging the support upwards with a variable force decreasing progressively on approaching alignment of the three apexes of said triangle, whereas the support, the arms and their loads are urged downwards by gravity with a variable force increasing progressively as the arm falls and as one approaches alignment of the three apexes of said triangle such that the force of gravity becomes greater than the lifting force of the elastic connecting-rod slightly before the support is horizontal.

Preferably, the elastic connecting-rod is constituted by a rod pivotted to the frame and sliding freely in an aperture in the slide. a helical spring, concentric to the rod, which is in compression, bearing firstly against the 4 periphery of the aper't'uie and secondly against an abutment which is movable on the rod.

The slide of the arm nearest the pivot-point of the support may have its displacement towards the other arm limited by an abutment to which it may be locked. An appropriate manner of limiting the displacement of this slide is to control it by means of a hook.

Depending on the type of hank to be treated, the shafts of the arms diverge. converge or the arms may even be frustoconical with their large base adjacent the support.

It is clear that the shafts of the arms will bend in some manner, but it is possible to provide that they bend elastically under the tensile force of the hank.

According to a last feature of the invention, the tensioning of the second arm is achieved with very varied elasticity by means of two springs placed on the elastic connecting-rod, springs whose actions are superimposed. Thus, a spring of great force and slight deflection is provided, ensuring the tension of the hank at the beginning of unwinding and a spring of great deflection and low force ensuring the tension of the last coils of the hank at the end of unwinding.

When it is provided to make the shafts of the arms 1 and 2 diverge and to stretch a hank between these two arms, the shafts of these arms bend and finally become substantially parallel. In this manner, all the parts of the hank in the unwinding position will undergo appropriate tension at the time of unwinding. This arrangement is preferable for sectional or axial hanks.

In the case of conventional hanks, short arms will be used whose shafts diverge or even short arms with parallel shafts, but the arms being frustoconical with their large base downwards to avoid the drawbacks of upper shoulders 21.

The use of several springs having different features separating the arms 1 and 2 makes it possible to ensure an almost constant tension of the coils during unwinding. In this way, it is possible to avoid the disarrangement of the coils in bundles which cause stoppages of the apparatus.

Finally, the springs ensuring the tension of the hank facilitate the stabilization of the support in the horizontal position at the time of unwinding.

The following description gives several non-limiting examples of the hank-carrier of the invention which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an axial sectional hank on the two hank-carrier arms;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing in elevational view, a conventional hank on its two arms in the unwinding position;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are diagrammatic views of three versions of the hank-carrier according to the invention with arms which diverge, converge and are parallel but conical respectively;

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views of a first version of the hank-carrier of the invention with solely the arm furthest from the pivot-point of the support moving on a slide;

FIG. 6 is a view of the hank-carrier with the vertical support in the position of loading the hank;

FIG. 7 is a view of the hank-carrier with the support folded down and the hank in the course of unwinding;

' FIG. 8 is a view of the hank-carrier, the support being folded down when the hank is completely unwound.

FIGS. 9, l and 11 are diagrammatic views of a second version of the hank-carrier in which the two arms move on slides, the slide of the arm nearest the pivotpoint of the support having its displacement towards the other arm limited by an abutment;

FIG. 9 is a view of the hank-carrier with the support raised, the two arms in their closest position facilitating positioning of the hank;

FIG. 10 is a view of the hank-carrier, the support raised, the arm nearest the pivot-point of the support being released to tension the hank slightly;

FIG. 11 is a view of the hank-carrier, the support being folded down, in the unwinding position.

In the various versions of the hank-carrier which is the object of the present description, similar parts have been given the same reference numerals with a view to simplification.

The apparatus is intended to ensure the unwinding either of an axial or sectional hank 18 (FIG. 1) or of a diametral or conventional hank 181 (FIG. 2). The axial hank 18 has the shape of a spindle whereas the diametral hank 181 has, as already seen, shoulders 21 and 22. The hanks l8 and 181 are stretched between arms 1 and 2 which are cylindrical or conical bodies of revolution, which may rotate about themselves on bearing pins as is known. The arms 1 and 2 are mounted substantially parallel to each other on a support 3 .which is perpendicular thereto. The support 3'may assume a vertical position (FIGS. 6, 9, 10) or a horizontal position (FIGS. 7, 8, 11) by pivotting about a pivot-point 4 having a horizontal axis integral with a frame 5 of the apparatus. The shaft of the arm 2, which is always movable, is fixed to a slide 11 which moves along the sup port 3. The shaft of the arm 1 is rigidly secured to the support 3 in the version of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. In the version of FIGS. 9, l0 and 11, the'shaft of the arm 1 is fixed'to a slide 12 which moves along the support 3. The sliding of the slides 11 and 12 on the support 3 is facilitated by any customary means in this technique. In the present case, pairs of rollers 23 are provided.

The displacement of the slide 11 along the support 3 is controlled by an elastic connecting-rod 7 which is pivotted on the frame at 6 and on the slide 11 on a bracket 24, integral with said slide 11, in which is provided an aperture into which is inserted the connecting-rod 7 which passes through said aperture 10 and i which may slide therein. An abutment 8 is provided on the connecting-rod 7 and concentric helical springs 9 and 20 are placed on the connecting-rod 7 and are interposed between the abutment 8 and the bracket 24. The spring 9 is of slight force and great deflection, the spring 20 is of slight deflection and great force; the spring 9 is much longer than the spring20. The abutment 8 is adjustable owing to the fact that it may assume a predetermined position along the connectingrod 7, a position in which it may be locked by a screw The sliding of the slide 12 on the support 3 is con? trolled by a hook 14 which pivots at 16 on the slide 1.2 and the end 15 of which may hook the pin 13. The hook l4, 15 is orientated in order that it normally hooks the pin 13 in the horizontal position of the support 3. The end 15 is designed to act in two directions, that is to say that the hook 14 may prevent the slide 12 from moving towards the pivot-point 4 but, in any case, it prevents the slide 12 from moving away from this pivot-point beyond a position which corresponds to the engagement of the end 15 on the pin 13; in fact, the hook I4 acts as an absolute abutment in the direction of movement of the shaft 1 away from the pivot-point 4 whereas it acts as a retractable abutment in the direction of movement of the arm 1 towards the pivot-point 4.

The pivot-point 6 of the connecting-rod 7 to the frame 5, the aperture 10 in the bracket 24 into which the connecting-rod 7 is inserted and the pivot-point 4 of the arm 3 to the frame 5 form the apexes of a triangle whose sides comprised between the pivot-point 4 and the aperture 10 on the one hand, the pivot-point 6 and the aperture 10 on the other hand, are of variable length and position, whereas the small side comprised between the pivot-points 4 and 6 is fixed. Geometrically speaking, the side comprised between the pivotpoint 6 and the aperture 10 has a minimum length when the aperture 10 and the pivot-points 4 and 6 have to be aligned. Mechanically speaking, the elastic connecting-rod 7 which is in compression, pushes the bracket 24 upwards and tends to raise the support 3, at least so long as the points 4, 6, 10 are not aligned, which never occurs in the hank-carrier, due to construction. It may be seen that the springs 9 and 20 exert not only a tensile force by separating the arm from the pivot-point 4, when the support 3 is folded down, but also they tend to prevent the folding down of this arm 3. However, considering the relative positions of the points 4, 6 and 10, during the downwards folding of the support 3, the component of the force tending to raise the support 3 decreases progressively as the support 3 is folded down. At the limit, this component would be cancelled when the three points 4, 6 and 10 would be aligned. On the contrary, during the folding down of the support 3, the torque exerted in a downwards direction by the weight of the various members and the hank 18 tends to progress and the relative position of the pivot-points 4 and 6 as well as the force of the springs 9 and 20 are determined in order that the support 3 passes through a position of unstable equalibrium when this support is in a position slightly before it reaches the horizontal position illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8, l1. Consequently, when the support 3 is in the horizontal position, it is constantly drawn downwards by the weight and there is no danger of it being lifted by the pull of the yarn 17 which is unwinding.

The spring 9 is practically in permanent contact with the bracket 24, whereas the spring 20 is in contact with said bracket as soon as the support 3 is vertical and at the time when the hank-carrier supports a hank in the horizontal position. The contact of the spring 20 on the bracket 24 no longer exists solely when the support 3 is in the horizontal position and when the hank is completely unwound or during the unwinding of the last coils.

To make'use of the hank-carrier according to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the support 3 is raised and the hank 18 is vplaced on the arm 2. Obviously, the hank is appropriately placed around the arm 1 at the same time. The support 3 remains in a stable vertical position since it is located in a housing 19 and is supported by the elastic connecting-rod 7. Moreover, the weight of the arms 1 and 2 and of the hank l8 tend to keep the support 3 in this vertical position. It is thus necessary to exert a manual force to fold it into the horizontal position where it is maintained against the frame 5 for the reasons which have been explained here above, as soon as it has passed its position of unstable equalibrium. During the folding down of the support 3, the spring 20 is compressed and it exerts tension on the hank 18 from the beginning of the folding down operation. The hank is thus ready for unwinding, which is carried out by pulling the yarn 17 in an upwards direction (FIG. 7). At the end of unwinding, the arms 1 and 2 move apart under the action of the spring 20 and above all of the spring 9 which acts on the last coils of the hank to maintain an appropriate tension of the latter.

The hank-carrier illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8 has a additional device which will now be described and which is illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11.

In this version of the hank-carrier, it is provided that the arm 1 is mounted on a slide 12 similar to the slide 11 in order to move on the support 3. The movement of the slide 12 is controlled by the hook 14, 15, 16 and the pin 13 in the manner which will be described hereafter. When the support is in the horizontal position and the hank has been unwound, the end of the hook 15 is engaged on the pin 13. When the support 3 is raised to place the arms 1 and 2 in the horizontal position, the end 15 still remains engaged on the pin 13 (FIG. 9). Since the arm 2 is thus adjacent the pivotpoint 4, the two arms 1 and 2 are in a position closest to each other. The hank 18 may thus be appropriately positioned, which hank simply rests on the arm 2 whereas the arm 1 is practically not in contact with the hank. Before folding down the support 3, the hook 14 is raised such that its end releases the pin 13; at this time, the arm 1 and its slide 12, under the effect of their own weight, descend in order that the arm 1 comes into contact with the hank 18 and ensures slight tension on the latter, preventing any movements on the arms 1 and 2 when the support 3 is folded down. Moreover, the slight tension of the hank makes it possible to position the hank appropriately on the arms, particularly the edges of the hank which tend to curve inwards owing to previous treatment. During this latter downwards movement (FIG. 11), the arm 2 moves away from the pivot-point 4 and pulls on the hank 18 which also pulls on the arm 1 thuspulling the slide 12 and the hook 14, the end 15 of which falls on the pin 13. The arm 1 is thus immobilized and the tension may be exerted with any desired force such that the same result is achieved as previously, but avoiding any disturbance of the hank following a displacement of the latter along the arms 1 and 2.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the examples described and illustrated, since other embodiments may be used to obtain the same result. In particular, in the examples illustrated, the abutment 8 is provided between the aperture 10 and the pivotpoint 6, while the springs 9 and 20 are in compression. It could be possible to locate the abutment 8 beyond the aperture 10 and, in this case, the springs 9 and 20 would be extended. Also, in the example illustrated, the moving arm 2 is that which is furthest from the pivot-point 4',

but it would be possible to make the arm 1, which is nearest the pivot-point 4, movable, by replacing the illustrated connecting-rod 7 by another rod ensuring a similar connection. In any case, the invention'is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Hank carrier apparatus for unwinding a hank of yarn in an upward direction, comprising:

a. a chassis carrying a pivoting support, pivotable between a vertical position for placement of the hank and a horizontal position for upward unwinding of the hank;

b. two substantially parallel arms on said support,

said arms being pivotable on their axes;

c. at least one of said arms being slide-mounted on said support to reduce the separation of said arms when said support is vertical, and to increase the separation of said arms when said support is horizontal, thereby tensioning the hank during unwinding;

characterized by d. a lever pivotable at one end on said chassis and slidably coupled to said slide-mounted arm at the other end, the chassis pivot points of said support and said lever and the coupling point of said slide with said lever forming a triangle having one side of fixed length and two sides of variable length; and

e. means on said lever for maintaining pressure against said slide mounted arm away from the other arm, the side of said triangle formed by said lever being shortened by pivoting said support from its vertical to its horizontal position, thereby activating said means for maintaining pressure.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein:

a. said lever comprises a stem pivoted on said chassis at one end and slidably penetrating said slidemount of said arm, and

b. said means for maintaining pressure comprises spring means adjustably fixed to said stem between its pivot and said slide, and exerting force on said slide away from said other arm.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said spring means comprises first and second concentric springs having different elastic properties from one another.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said other arm is slide-mounted on said support, said apparatus further including removable means for automatically locking said other arm in position on said support under tension by said hank.

5. Apparatus as described in claim 4 wherein said support defines a protuberance and wherein said means for locking comprises a hook pivotably connected to said other arm and pivotable to hook over said protuberance.

6. Apparatus as described in claim I wherein said arms are of frustoconical configuration, tapering away from said support.

7. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said arms bend elastically on their axes under tension from said hank. 

1. Hank carrier apparatus for unwinding a hank of yarn in an upward direction, comprising: a. a chassis carrying a pivoting support, pivotable between a vertical position for placement of the hank and a horizontal position for upward unwinding of the hank; b. two substantially parallel arms on said support, said arms being pivotable on their axes; c. at least one of said arms being slide-mounted on said support to reduce the separation of said arms when said support is vertical, and to increase the separation of said arms when said support is horizontal, thereby tensioning the hank during unwinding; characterized by d. a lever pivotable at one end on said chassis and slidably coupled to said slide-mounted arm at the other end, the chassis pivot points of said support and said lever and the coupling point of said slide with said lever forming a triangle having one side of fixed length and two sides of variable length; and e. means on said lever for maintaining pressure against said slide mounted arm away from the other arm, the side of said triangle formed by said lever being shortened by pivoting said support from its vertical to its horizontal position, thereby activating said means for maintaining pressure.
 2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein: a. said lever comprises a stem pivoted on said chassis at one end and slidably penetrating said slidemount of said arm, and b. said means for maintaining pressure comprises spring means adjustably fixed to said stem between its pivot and said slide, and exerting force on said slide away from said other arm.
 3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said spring means comprises first and second concentric springs having different elastic properties from one another.
 4. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said other arm is slide-mounted on said support, said apparatus further including removable means for automatically locking said other arm in position on said support under tension by said hank.
 5. Apparatus as described in claim 4 wherein said support defines a protuberance and wherein said means for locking comprises a hook pivotably connected to said other arm and pivotable to hook over said protuberance.
 6. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said arms are of frustoconical configuration, tapering away from said support.
 7. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said arms bend elastically on their axes under tension from said hank. 